A Boston College sports blog capturing the highs and lows of being a BC fan living 1,000 miles from Chestnut Hill.

Monday, July 11, 2005

Where we are going and were we aren’t

CFN released their preseason bowl predictions. They think BC will face Mizzou in the Champs Bowl. These things are fun time-fillers, drive fan interest and take very little time to put together. Hell, I can tell you where BC will go (assuming we’re bowl eligible again).

First where you won’t see BC: any BCS game and Charlotte. Last year was our best chance to put BC in the BCS. As optimistic as I am getting about this season it would take a string of miracles topped by us winning the ACC championship in Jacksonville to qualify for a BCS game. Not going to happen this year. You can also cross Charlotte off since we went last year as the Big East rep and they will always pick an ACC team within driving distance.

Where we might go: Gator Bowl or Peach Bowl. While the Peach would be a dream come true for me, I would be equally happy with the Gator. Both are long, long shots. The Gator invite would only happen if these specific dominoes fall. First, Notre Dame would have to qualify for the Big East slot. Their fans would buy enough tickets to offset BC’s poor travel record and the TV ratings would be appealing to the network. But -- here is the rub -- to get the invite BC would have to have a strong enough conference record, but still lose to the division to FSU. Because if BC makes the ACC Championship game and loses, we are not being invited back six weeks later. Ticket sales would be terrible. The Peach Bowl will only happen if we win the division and then lose in Jacksonville. I also think the Peach would only consider us if our SEC opponent guaranteed a sellout (Alabama, Auburn, Georgia, Tennessee or South Carolina).

Where we are probably going: Boise or Champs (Orlando’s JV Bowl). I would prefer Orlando, but with the god-awful bowl games we’ve played in, it is only a matter of time before we are on the Blue Turf. These slots are all determined by who has been where and what matchup makes the most sense travel and television wise. Season records take a back seat to money (just look how UVA got jobbed last season).

Of course there is also the “fill a slot” route which we have taken before. This is where BC is barely bowl eligible and doesn’t get one of the guaranteed ACC slots. In this case we would fill whatever slots cannot be filled by someone else. Unfortunately this scenario is much more likely than the Peach Bowl.